As celebrities ask for clemency for Maori Davenport's suspension, Alabama HSAA refuses to back down

The celebrity heat on the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) continues to rise after the AHSAA’s season-long suspension of star Henderson High School (Troy, Ala.) girls basketball player Maori Davenport. But even now, with NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins and ESPN commentator Jay Bilas coming to Davenport’s defense, the AHSAA has refused to consider granting an exception that would allow Davenport to return for her senior season.

Davenport is a five-star center for Henderson who has signed to play at Rutgers. As reported here and elsewhere, Henderson was suspended for the season after she received a payment of just less than $900 for her travel with USA Basketball this summer.

What the Alabama High School Athletic Association has done to Maori Davenport is wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start. I know what this feels like because I was treated like shit by them too. Being a kid from Alabama, I'm with Maori Davenport. Fix this now!

While that payment was small enough to escape NCAA punishment, it was still a violation of the AHSAA’s amateur rule. That detail escaped the focus of USA Basketball because Davenport is one of the only members of the team that still had high school eligibility.

Part of that organizational obstinance is grounded in the circumstances surrounding Davenport herself. As reported by AL.com, Davenport’s mother is a certified Alabama basketball coach, and Henderson’s head coach is a former member of the AHSAA Central Board of Control. As the Board of Control noted in a lengthy statement to the media, “she should not only appreciate the importance of knowing and following the AHSAA bylaws and eligibility rules but also understand how imperative it is to consistently uphold the same rules.”

And while public outcry continues to demand Davenport’s return, AHSAA has also noted that its bylaws prohibit Executive Director Steve Savarese from making such a move himself. Rather, the appellate process is needed to overturn any ruling, including the one Savarese had to make regarding Davenport because her payment violated the amateur clause.

“It should be pointed out that a high school student from Illinois also received payment from USA Basketball. However, that student called her high school once she received the check and then returned the check to USA Basketball without cashing or depositing it. Here, the student received the check, endorsed it and it was posted to her bank account. Three months later, AHSAA was notified and the monies returned to USA Basketball.

“A high school student from Missouri has also been ruled ineligible for this basketball season for accepting the lost wages payment from USA Basketball.

“USA Basketball never called Charles Henderson High School or AHSAA to ask if payment for lost wages violated AHSAA rules until November which was three months after payment was made and accepted by the student. This was not a clerical error but a complete lack of administrative oversight on the part of USA Basketball, thus possibly rendering multiple student-athletes ineligible as most states have an Amateur Rule.”

The moral of the story? If anyone extends a high school athlete money, they must make sure it’s allowed, regardless of the legitimacy of the organization behind it. In the short run, that means we have almost certainly seen the last of Maori Davenport’s brilliant high school career.